Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic, writing on a wide range of topics such as technology, economic policy and behavioural psychology. One of his best known pieces is The Atlantic magazine cover story A World Without Work, which delves into the impact technology may have on the future of employment as we know it. We interviewed him on why he took the Giving What We Canpledge.

A couple of years ago Derek met Will and Amanda MacAskill while staying in New York. Huddled in a kitchen drinking beer with Will, he started to wonder if you could really do more good for the world working on Wall Street than forWateraid.

Since then Derek has done a lot of research into effective giving, promoting the idea that those in the global north can do a tremendous amount of good with their wealth, especially if they think “scientifically rather thansentimentally”.

Workers distributing mosquito nets on behalf of the Against Malaria Foundation in Malawi

Giving What We Can: Will this affect the way you do journalism? Do you want to write about pressing causes or high-impact social movements? How does your work writing on economics and labour markets relate to your views about effectivealtruism?

Derek: I think journalists have an obligation to write about issues of great importance that escape the everyday attention of most people, and effective altruism offers a great frame through which to find those causes and stories.

Giving What We Can: What would you say to someone hesitating about whether to take thepledge?

Derek: The typical family spends about ten percent of its income on food. That’s about 5,000 dollars for a typical household each year. For that amount, the Against Malaria Foundation estimates that you could buy enough malaria nets to save a life. By donating an extra breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day for one year, you can save a life. That seems like a pretty compellingdeal.